Social Studies 5

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Unit	Essential Questions	Habits Of Mind	Content	Assessment
Sustainability: Pitchfork to Plate	1. Where does our food come from? 2. What are different ways that we can enrich our soil? 3. What does organic mean? 4. What are all the steps involved from seed to plate? 5. What choices do farmers make about their farming methods are what are the impacts? 8. What different choices do consumers make when purchasing food? 10. In examining a single agricultural product, what are all the steps involved in growing, producing, harvesting, shipping, processing and moving the product to a point of consumption? 11. How do profitability and globalization affect food production? 12. How do labor costs affect food production and how do food production choices affect workers? 14. What is the history of "family farming" in the United States? 15. What is the environmental impacts of moving away from family farms to a large-scale operation? 16. What are the non-food additives that are in many types of common foods? 17. How do economics dictate food choices? 18. How did fast food develop in the United States? 19. What major impacts has fast food had on the infrastructure, food processing, and culture in the United States and globally? 20. How are kids marketed to? 21. How can I affect positive change and persuade others to follow my lead?	Teaching students to be stewards of the earth.	1. Our food comes from a variety of places and can travel many miles to reach us. There are local food options available, but they are not always easily attained. Food can come from the earth or laboratory. 2. We can enrich our soil through mimicking the natures cycling through compositing, companion planting, etc. Chemicals will help plants grow, but are not a closed loop process. 3. Organic farming mimics nature's natural cycle and does not use any chemical products in any part of the process. 4. Soil preparation-planting-growth and care-harvesting-storage-transporting-processing-packing-shipping-shelving-purchasing-preparing-consuming. 5. Farmers can choose to grow in a long-term sustainable manner in which they mimic earth's natural processes which continually sustain the soil and natural resources. They can also choose to farm in a short-term manner, depleting resources for a more immediate economic gain. 6. Consumers look at price, taste, packaging, location, presentation, availability, convenience, nutritional value. In addition, culture, family values and economics all influence these choices. 7. The transportation and processing of food reduces the quality, flavor, and nutritional value of food. 8. Companies can use cost-saving measures such as importation, low wages, and reducing the quality of foods to increase their profitability and reduce the price consumers pay for their final product. 9. Cheaper labor leads to lower food prices. Cheaper labor impacts workers' wages, health care, work conditions and educational opportunity. 10. In a very short period of history, we have moved from small farms to large-scale farming because of the economic benefits. The family farms have been squeezed out of the market due to efficiency and profitability. 11. Small organic farms are more likely to be sustainable than large-scale conventional farms. Most large-scale conventional farms are not yet able to implement closed-loop sustainable systems. The side effects include disease, unethical treatment of animals, and the generation of toxic substances. 12. There is a whole industry devoted to engineering food additives for color, taste, appeal, smell, texture, etc. 13. Organic food often costs more than conventional foods. 14. There are many different factors involved in making informed choices surrounding food. 15. The creation of highways was the ideal niche for the generation and proliferation of the fast food industry. 16. The application of assembly-line procedures in fast food production generates "sameness" of product and allows for low-skilled/low-cost employees. 17. Personal actions can create a substantial change.	Check for verbal and written understanding of of the differences between conventional and organic farming, healthy conditions for compost, the interconnectedness of the food web, etc. Evaluate flow chart about food transportation. Examine student reflections about food processing and packaging. Assess student interview notes. Student self-reflections.

Unit

Essential Questions

Habits Of Mind

Content

Assessment

Sustainability: Pitchfork to Plate

1. Where does our food come from?
2. What are different ways that we can enrich our soil?
3. What does organic mean?
4. What are all the steps involved from seed to plate?
5. What choices do farmers make about their farming methods are what are the impacts?
8. What different choices do consumers make when purchasing food?

10. In examining a single agricultural product, what are all the steps involved in growing, producing, harvesting, shipping, processing and moving the product to a point of consumption?
11. How do profitability and globalization affect food production?
12. How do labor costs affect food production and how do food production choices affect workers?

14. What is the history of "family farming" in the United States?
15. What is the environmental impacts of moving away from family farms to a large-scale operation?
16. What are the non-food additives that are in many types of common foods?
17. How do economics dictate food choices?
18. How did fast food develop in the United States?
19. What major impacts has fast food had on the infrastructure, food processing, and culture in the United States and globally?
20. How are kids marketed to?
21. How can I affect positive change and persuade others to follow my lead?

Teaching students to be stewards of the earth.

1. Our food comes from a variety of places and can travel many miles to reach us. There are local food options available, but they are not always easily attained. Food can come from the earth or laboratory.

2. We can enrich our soil through mimicking the natures cycling through compositing, companion planting, etc. Chemicals will help plants grow, but are not a closed loop process.

3. Organic farming mimics nature's natural cycle and does not use any chemical products in any part of the process.

4. Soil preparation-planting-growth and care-harvesting-storage-transporting-processing-packing-shipping-shelving-purchasing-preparing-consuming.

5. Farmers can choose to grow in a long-term sustainable manner in which they mimic earth's natural processes which continually sustain the soil and natural resources. They can also choose to farm in a short-term manner, depleting resources for a more immediate economic gain.

6. Consumers look at price, taste, packaging, location, presentation, availability, convenience, nutritional value. In addition, culture, family values and economics all influence these choices.

7. The transportation and processing of food reduces the quality, flavor, and nutritional value of food.

8. Companies can use cost-saving measures such as importation, low wages, and reducing the quality of foods to increase their profitability and reduce the price consumers pay for their final product.

9. Cheaper labor leads to lower food prices. Cheaper labor impacts workers' wages, health care, work conditions and educational opportunity.

10. In a very short period of history, we have moved from small farms to large-scale farming because of the economic benefits. The family farms have been squeezed out of the market due to efficiency and profitability.

11. Small organic farms are more likely to be sustainable than large-scale conventional farms. Most large-scale conventional farms are not yet able to implement closed-loop sustainable systems. The side effects include disease, unethical treatment of animals, and the generation of toxic substances.

12. There is a whole industry devoted to engineering food additives for color, taste, appeal, smell, texture, etc.

13. Organic food often costs more than conventional foods.

14. There are many different factors involved in making informed choices surrounding food.

15. The creation of highways was the ideal niche for the generation and proliferation of the fast food industry.

16. The application of assembly-line procedures in fast food production generates "sameness" of product and allows for low-skilled/low-cost employees.

17. Personal actions can create a substantial change.

Check for verbal and written understanding of of the differences between conventional and organic farming, healthy conditions for compost, the interconnectedness of the food web, etc.

Evaluate flow chart about food transportation.

Examine student reflections about food processing and packaging.

Assess student interview notes.

Student self-reflections.

Catlin Gabel

Social Studies 5

Units